According to an interview with creative director of Red Steel 2, Jason Vandenberghe, the game will require Wii Remote MotionPlus in order to be played. Here’s the direct quote from Nintendo Power (via: Nintendo Dpad)…“Itâ€™s a huge risk. We have no idea what the penetration rate for Wii MotionPlus will be. We assume high. We would like it to be high. I would love to say to you that itâ€™ll be compatible with just a regular controller, but the gameplay simply isnâ€™t there without MotionPlus. That core experience just isnâ€™t there without it.”

After pondering over the news, it’s quite an interesting position that Ubisoft has put themselves in. It’s definitely risky, but sometimes the big gambles pay off. In essence, Ubisoft is banking on the notion that MotionPlus is going to take off and reach Wii Balance Board like numbers. I’d say that the odds are in their favor, but to make it completely exclusive?

I think this adds even more hype to Red Steel 2. The original game was bragged about as allowing insanely realistic sword fighting gameplay. It didn’t quite live up to that standard. Now they’ve created a game that can’t be played without the 1:1 peripheral. This does nothing but show that Ubisoft might be living up to their promises this time around. Hopefully there’s a slew of footage shown off at E3.

Well, that didn’t take very long. Just last week we were witness to the announcement of Red Steel 2. Now we have a trailer to get us all antsy for its release. It definitely does impress, but just exactly what is it?

The trailer leads you to assume that everything occurring on screen is gameplay footage. If it is, then we could have the prettiest Wii game ever coming our way Holiday 2009. My bet is that this is for the most part an interactive cutscene with pre-rendered graphics..

To me Red Steel is one of the most disappointing games ever. The games isn’t awful mind you, but it was such a let down. Going into the Nintendo Wii launch, the idea of sword fighting was high on everyone’s list. Including my own. The hype for Red Steel was getting so big that some were preparing for Goldeneye on the Wii.

Red Steel delivered in the sense that everything they bragged about was there. It was just unpolished, unfinished, and buggy as hell. It was apparent that Ubisoft really wanted to have a launch title, and was willing to rush Red Steel out in order to do so. Luckily, this time around Ubisoft has no time table to worry about. Here are some key things we know about Red Steel 2 so far:

LONDON, UK – APRIL 29, 2009 â€“ Today UbisoftÂ® announced Red SteelÂ®2, exclusively on Wiiâ„¢ system from Nintendo. Red Steel remains one of the most successful Wii titles and the only brand created specifically for the launch of the platform. Red Steel 2 is being developed by Ubisoft Paris and will be available for the 2009 holiday season.

Red Steel 2 returns with an artistic style and flair created just for Wii. Set in a desert-bound, high-tech metropolis, Red Steel 2 is a revolution in the action-fighting genre, taking full advantage of the capabilities of the Wii MotionPlusâ„¢ accessory. Your movements are faithfully replicated on-screen, putting the emphasis on swinging, shooting and fun! With the ability of the Wii MotionPlus to sense the strength of a swing, you will literally be able to make an impact on your adversaries through power and precision.

â€œRed Steel was a unique opportunity for Ubisoft to work in tandem with Nintendo to create a title exclusively for the launch of the Wii console,” said John Parkes, EMEA marketing director at Ubisoft. “Red Steel 2 is another milestone for the company as it is the first Ubisoft title with full Wii MotionPlus integration.â€

Just as Red Steel broke ground as the only third-party brand created for the launch of the Wii, Red Steel 2 will be the must-have game of Holiday 2009 for those who wish to stretch their own capacities and fully experience a game that was built from the ground up to take advantage of the Wii MotionPlus.

I’m weary whenever I hear of a game coming to the Nintendo Wii, by way of Ubisoft. They’re the poster child of the “hit-or-miss” trend, with some of their games being good on the Wii, along with the worst. The latest Tenchu video keeps following the same trend, as parts of it left me impressed with other scenes making me shake my head.

First, the gameplay looks to be quite involving and from the looks of it will incorporate many interesting motion control movements. All of the assassination animations were impressive, and had some engaging sound effects accompanying them. The graphics also looked crisp, and will hopefully be represented in 480p when the game launches.

What I was less than impressed with, were the characters and voice acting. If Ubisoft has any time left, they need to think about putting a little more voice work in. Ayama, the main character already annoys me and that’s only after watching a 1:22 clip. Also, the man she kills in the final scene is Japanese yet I hear a distinct British accent. The dialogue makes me think that it takes place in modern times, yet the outfits and setting look like feudal Japan. Very odd indeed.

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What are your thoughts on the trailer? Is Tenchu: Shadow Assasins a game that you’ve been waiting on for awhile?